30 Days of Character Development. Well, 30 Questions.
I found a meme and I’m bored at school, don’t judge me B| …even if these are may be getting a touch repetitive by now. Whatever. Oh right, and it’s originally from here.
1.) Describe your character’s relationship with their mother or their father, or both. Was it good? Bad? Were they spoiled rotten, ignored? Do they still get along now, or no?
Technically, Nations don’t have parents. Aaron was raised by his brother, and luckily for everyone involved he grew up fast as well. He was kinda spoiled rotten, but besides that even Aaron would have to admit Alfred had raised him well.
2.) What are your characters most prominent physical features?
There’s certainly his war scars, he can’t always hide them. And is kinda trying to accept them being there so sometimes they’ll be in view, though there are certain ones he’ll hide. Then there’s the features that distinguish him from Alfred: grey eyes, scrawny, tanner skin and hair a darker shade of blonde.
3.) Name one scar your character has, and tell us where it came from. If they don’t have any, is there a reason?
Actually the main ones he’ll hide are the burn scar over his heart and the lash marks across his upper back. The burn scar over his heart is from the burning of Richmond and his dissolution as a Nation. The lash marks across his upper back are basically social unrest; riots, slavery, the like.
4.) How vain is your character? Do they find themselves attractive?
Aaron…he likes to think he isn’t vain. But he actually kinda is. He doesn’t think of himself as particularly attractive either, when he looks in a mirror he sees scars and Alfred, but he knows that others do think of him as attractive.
5.) What’s your character’s ranking on the Kinsey Scale?
Aaron would be about a four or five, I think. He’s bisexual, but he does tend to lean towards other men rather than women.
6.) Describe your character’s happiest memory.
Aaron’s happiest memory...maybe early 1861, when the Southern States were seceding. His arrogance would have certainly loved the fact they were willingly leaving Alfred for him. Besides that, he was actually a Nation, not only a piece of one, and increasingly apparent the piece considered less important at that.
7.) Is there one event or happening your character would like to erase from their past? Why?
While Aaron doesn’t regret seceding, he does regret losing. It wasn’t just that he failed his people and states, but he really lost everything when he lost the war. He often wishes he could go back and fix his mistakes.
8.) Day of Favorites! What’s your character’s favorite ice cream flavor? Color? Song? Flower?
Favorite ice cream flavor: Aaron would like ones like vanilla, butter pecan, praline pecan, butterscotch, and caramel…basically what one would consider “old fashioned” flavors.
Color: Grey obviously has a lot of sentimental value for him, while he also likes earthy colors like browns and greens, or oranges and reds.
Song: His favorite songs are the ones sang by his soldiers during the war, though Aaron wouldn’t really be able to pick a favorite. Besides that, he likes country, bluegrass, or folk music.
Flower: His favorites are Confederate roses, and Confederate jasmine. He’s also fond of magnolias, wild roses, daisies, and other wild flowers.
9.) Who does your character trust?
For Aaron, trust is a tricky issue. He really doesn’t truly trust anyone, preferring not to because he feels as if his trust has been broken too many times before. He may trust someone with something specific, like trusting Alfred to not allow someone else to get to him, but actually trusting someone? Not anymore.
10.) Can you define a turning point in your character’s life? Multiples are acceptable.
Somehow when he first appeared in 1787 after the Philadelphia Convention seems as if it’d deserve mention. It wasn’t until on in Antebellum though that Aaron actually grew up from being a shy little child in the corner to an almost excessively self-confident and arrogant young man. Then the war came which is what really changed Aaron to almost a different person entirely, toning down his personality and taking the less-than-stable part of his nature and just shooting it straight to hell. After that…he’s only just gotten to Reconstruction, so it hasn’t affected him as much yet.
11.) Is there an animal you equate with your character?
When pushed, Aaron can actually get pretty feral. He has a catty personality in general at that. So taking those two points, I would think a wildcat.
12.) How is your character with technology? Super savvy, or way behind the times? Letters or email?
Aaron’s one of those people that would understand how to use technology, but he just has a preference for interacting person-to-person instead, or letters instead of email.
13.) What does your character’s bed look like when he/she wakes up? Are the covers off on one side of the bed, are they all curled around a pillow, sprawled everywhere? In what position might they sleep?
Aaron’s likely to steal all the covers and have them all around him on whichever side of the bed he’s sleeping on, especially during the winter months. He also tends to sleep curled up on his side, curled around a pillow, or cuddled up to someone if he isn’t sleeping alone. He’ll occasionally kick in his sleep, though.
14.) How does your character react to temperature changes such as extreme heat and cold?
Besides the danger of over-heating since he’s already practically a human radiator, Aaron can handle heat rather well. Cold, on the other hand…cold would get him every time. He gets cold rather easily, and can’t stand the slightest chill. If it was cold, he’d be the one who’s main priority is finding a way to keep warm over any and everything else.
15.) Is your character an early morning bird or a night owl?
Sleeping isn’t exactly Aaron’s strong suit, but then neither is waking up. He’s prone to nightmares, and will stay up late until he just passes out from exhaustion. On the other hand, once he is asleep, it’s practically impossible to wake him up and get him out of bed. Even if he did wake early in the morning, it’s likely to be noon before he ever actually got out of bed.
16.) Are there any blood relatives that your character is particularly close with, besides the immediate ones? Cousins, Uncles, Grandfathers, Aunts, et cetera. Are there any others that your character practically considers a blood relative?
The North American Nations besides the North and Canada seem kinda like cousins to Aaron, but it’s like those cousins you never see and never think anything of. The one he knows best is Mexico, which isn’t saying much. He’ll refer to and think of Ireland as “Auntie Ireland”, but that’s really it as far as actual family goes.
17.) What’s your character’s desk/workspace look like? Are they neat or messy?
Aaron tends to leave things in an organized mess. Everything looks like it’s just piled and thrown wherever there was a clear space, but he knows where everything is. Likewise when he does organize and clean it, he knows where absolutely nothing is and will likely just find random things instead.
18.) Is your character a good cook? What’s their favorite recipe, whether they’re good or not? (Microwave mac-and-cheese applies.)
Aaron can cook Southern-style meals like nobody’s business, or on the other hand Confederate fare could send regiments to the hospital. So basically if Aaron doesn’t like someone, he’s liable to try to subtly poison them, but besides that if you don’t mind comfort food and lots of butter, you’re in good hands. He has a sweet tooth, and his favorite food is peach cobbler.
19.) What’s your character’s preferred means of travel?
If he can, Aaron would prefer a means of land travel, at which point the means depends on distance. However, he’s also fond of the water, so if need be he wouldn’t have any issue with that, either. He’d dislike planes though. He prefers to be on planet earth, not above it, thank you very much.
20.) Does your character have any irrational fears?
Snakes. He was bitten by a copperhead as a child, and while the bites are rarely lethal, they do hurt like a motherfucker. And back in the late 1700s, there weren’t the medical treatments to handle pain like today.
21.) What would your character’s cutie mark be?
For Aaron, I’m tempted to say like, crossed sabers or something military themed. Southern soldiers were known (or infamous, depending on who you ask) for their fighting ability, and Aaron himself is a soldier through and through.
22.) If your character could time travel, where would they go?
Knowing Aaron, he’d have the main goal of winning the war. Which could mean either before the war, or in 1861, since the Confederacy began its slow spiral down by Second Manassas in 1862, before Gettysburg turned it into a free fall in 1863 and then collapsing like a house of cards by 1865.
23.) Is your character superstitious?
He actually is, yes. Aaron can see "American" things, such as jackalope or the Native American legends such as the Thunderbird. He can also see ghosts. However, he can't see things such as fairies or unicorns, etc. Unless it's something that's present in Native American folklore or known as being "American", he can't see it. He's also not as frightened as Alfred of ghosts and such. No, he doesn't particularly like them, but that doesn't mean he's going to scream. He's the type of person that would be one of the first to tell you there are some things in the world that simply can't be explained away. He knows how to use the voodoo of Louisiana, and believes that "old wives’ tales" and omens have some grain of truth in them, if nothing else. Maybe not some of the more ridiculous ones, but there are some that he pays attention to, such as being wary of black water or "Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning". It's also because of this superstition that there are times he tends to go with instinct, rather than what he may see. Even if he tends to be more practical and rational than Alfred can be, not as idealistic, if he gets a bad feeling about something for example, even if he doesn't know why, he's still be wary because of it.
24.) What might your character’s ideal romantic partner be?
Oh man, I always just like. Basically skip this question on these things. I fail, I know. It’d…likely take a special sort to be able to handle someone like Aaron, who is so infamously hard to handle. It’d have to be someone who could handle being strong for/with him, and yet yielding. Uhm…hell, it’d take a special sort just to get the guy to trust them, let alone be willing to open up as much as an actual relationship kinda requires. Aaron gets into occasional flings, not actual relationships usually.
25.) Describe your character’s hands. Are they small, long, calloused, smooth, stubby?
He has long hangs, like I think of this fanart for them. There are callouses from using various weapons so much doing the war, like on his palms and fingers, but the rest of the skin, like the back of his hands, is smooth.
26.) Second day of favorites! Favorite comfort food, favorite vice, favorite outfit, favorite hot drink, favorite time of year, and favorite holiday.
Comfort food: He’d never admit it, but pumpkin pie. It’s been stated the Alfred from Aaron’s own timeline would often use pumpkin in foods, and out of these pumpkin pie is his favorite. If asked, he’s most likely to say peach cobbler since it’s his favorite food.
Vice: He smokes and drinks, both heavily. He did before the war as well, but not nearly as much. Back during Antebellum, he’d be able to make a pack of 20 last a few days and drank only occasionally. Now, he’s liable to go through two packs a day and is drinking the strongest whiskey he can get his hands on basically any time he can.
Outfit: Aaron is one of those people who's liable to be walking around in only a long shirt, or only a pair of pants. And underwear obviously. It's just what's most comfortable to him. Actual clothes would be casual clothes for his time period, or just about any really. He doesn't mind dressing up, but he's lazy.
Hot drink: Coffee or hot chocolate. Aaron likes his coffee sweet as cane sugar and hot as hell, likewise he likes how sweet hot chocolate is.
Time of year: Spring or Autumn. He doesn't have to worry about over-heating, and there isn't as much cold to be bothered by either. If he had to just pick one he'd say Autumn. He likes the warm fall colors.
Holiday: Christmas. It's a time to be together with family, and spoil them a bit while he's at it. It's one of the few times Aaron'll act sweet to all his family members, not sweet to one or two and contrary with the rest.
27.) Pick two songs that describe your character at two different points of their life, and explain why you chose them.
During Antebellum, I’d say ”What A Shame” by Shinedown. Basically it’s a song about someone who wanted to be the best person he could be, but couldn't quite get there because everything he did or said was analyzed and judged by people who really did not understand the true person that he was. And everything he tried to do to make them see him differently only seemed to make it worse for him. That's what I think anyway. And it just fits Aaron’s situation, starting from back then. And I was at a loss for a Antebellum song.
After the war, it’d be more this this one. The main thing this song makes me think of is how the Yankee propaganda makes the CSA out to be a monster when...well, it's not true. But every time I hear this song, the more I remember CSA from Reconstruction onwards.
28.) If your character’s life was a genre, what would it be?
Wait are we talking about music still or is this like literature or movies or something. Uhm…for music it’d be like. Country or the like. Literary…it’d probably be historical, or folklore, considering the Nation part maybe even a fable. If it was a movie, likely a war-film.
29.) How does your character smell? Do they wear perfume or cologne?
Even if he only just stepped out of a shower, there’d still be the smell of honey and magnolias about him, and a hint of gunpowder. Obviously, there’s also the tobacco and whiskey. He doesn’t wear any cologne.
30.) And finally: Write a letter to your character, from yourself.
l-lol. Uhm. I will just leave this here. Yeap.
1.) Describe your character’s relationship with their mother or their father, or both. Was it good? Bad? Were they spoiled rotten, ignored? Do they still get along now, or no?
Technically, Nations don’t have parents. Aaron was raised by his brother, and luckily for everyone involved he grew up fast as well. He was kinda spoiled rotten, but besides that even Aaron would have to admit Alfred had raised him well.
2.) What are your characters most prominent physical features?
There’s certainly his war scars, he can’t always hide them. And is kinda trying to accept them being there so sometimes they’ll be in view, though there are certain ones he’ll hide. Then there’s the features that distinguish him from Alfred: grey eyes, scrawny, tanner skin and hair a darker shade of blonde.
3.) Name one scar your character has, and tell us where it came from. If they don’t have any, is there a reason?
Actually the main ones he’ll hide are the burn scar over his heart and the lash marks across his upper back. The burn scar over his heart is from the burning of Richmond and his dissolution as a Nation. The lash marks across his upper back are basically social unrest; riots, slavery, the like.
4.) How vain is your character? Do they find themselves attractive?
Aaron…he likes to think he isn’t vain. But he actually kinda is. He doesn’t think of himself as particularly attractive either, when he looks in a mirror he sees scars and Alfred, but he knows that others do think of him as attractive.
5.) What’s your character’s ranking on the Kinsey Scale?
Aaron would be about a four or five, I think. He’s bisexual, but he does tend to lean towards other men rather than women.
6.) Describe your character’s happiest memory.
Aaron’s happiest memory...maybe early 1861, when the Southern States were seceding. His arrogance would have certainly loved the fact they were willingly leaving Alfred for him. Besides that, he was actually a Nation, not only a piece of one, and increasingly apparent the piece considered less important at that.
7.) Is there one event or happening your character would like to erase from their past? Why?
While Aaron doesn’t regret seceding, he does regret losing. It wasn’t just that he failed his people and states, but he really lost everything when he lost the war. He often wishes he could go back and fix his mistakes.
8.) Day of Favorites! What’s your character’s favorite ice cream flavor? Color? Song? Flower?
Favorite ice cream flavor: Aaron would like ones like vanilla, butter pecan, praline pecan, butterscotch, and caramel…basically what one would consider “old fashioned” flavors.
Color: Grey obviously has a lot of sentimental value for him, while he also likes earthy colors like browns and greens, or oranges and reds.
Song: His favorite songs are the ones sang by his soldiers during the war, though Aaron wouldn’t really be able to pick a favorite. Besides that, he likes country, bluegrass, or folk music.
Flower: His favorites are Confederate roses, and Confederate jasmine. He’s also fond of magnolias, wild roses, daisies, and other wild flowers.
9.) Who does your character trust?
For Aaron, trust is a tricky issue. He really doesn’t truly trust anyone, preferring not to because he feels as if his trust has been broken too many times before. He may trust someone with something specific, like trusting Alfred to not allow someone else to get to him, but actually trusting someone? Not anymore.
10.) Can you define a turning point in your character’s life? Multiples are acceptable.
Somehow when he first appeared in 1787 after the Philadelphia Convention seems as if it’d deserve mention. It wasn’t until on in Antebellum though that Aaron actually grew up from being a shy little child in the corner to an almost excessively self-confident and arrogant young man. Then the war came which is what really changed Aaron to almost a different person entirely, toning down his personality and taking the less-than-stable part of his nature and just shooting it straight to hell. After that…he’s only just gotten to Reconstruction, so it hasn’t affected him as much yet.
11.) Is there an animal you equate with your character?
When pushed, Aaron can actually get pretty feral. He has a catty personality in general at that. So taking those two points, I would think a wildcat.
12.) How is your character with technology? Super savvy, or way behind the times? Letters or email?
Aaron’s one of those people that would understand how to use technology, but he just has a preference for interacting person-to-person instead, or letters instead of email.
13.) What does your character’s bed look like when he/she wakes up? Are the covers off on one side of the bed, are they all curled around a pillow, sprawled everywhere? In what position might they sleep?
Aaron’s likely to steal all the covers and have them all around him on whichever side of the bed he’s sleeping on, especially during the winter months. He also tends to sleep curled up on his side, curled around a pillow, or cuddled up to someone if he isn’t sleeping alone. He’ll occasionally kick in his sleep, though.
14.) How does your character react to temperature changes such as extreme heat and cold?
Besides the danger of over-heating since he’s already practically a human radiator, Aaron can handle heat rather well. Cold, on the other hand…cold would get him every time. He gets cold rather easily, and can’t stand the slightest chill. If it was cold, he’d be the one who’s main priority is finding a way to keep warm over any and everything else.
15.) Is your character an early morning bird or a night owl?
Sleeping isn’t exactly Aaron’s strong suit, but then neither is waking up. He’s prone to nightmares, and will stay up late until he just passes out from exhaustion. On the other hand, once he is asleep, it’s practically impossible to wake him up and get him out of bed. Even if he did wake early in the morning, it’s likely to be noon before he ever actually got out of bed.
16.) Are there any blood relatives that your character is particularly close with, besides the immediate ones? Cousins, Uncles, Grandfathers, Aunts, et cetera. Are there any others that your character practically considers a blood relative?
The North American Nations besides the North and Canada seem kinda like cousins to Aaron, but it’s like those cousins you never see and never think anything of. The one he knows best is Mexico, which isn’t saying much. He’ll refer to and think of Ireland as “Auntie Ireland”, but that’s really it as far as actual family goes.
17.) What’s your character’s desk/workspace look like? Are they neat or messy?
Aaron tends to leave things in an organized mess. Everything looks like it’s just piled and thrown wherever there was a clear space, but he knows where everything is. Likewise when he does organize and clean it, he knows where absolutely nothing is and will likely just find random things instead.
18.) Is your character a good cook? What’s their favorite recipe, whether they’re good or not? (Microwave mac-and-cheese applies.)
Aaron can cook Southern-style meals like nobody’s business, or on the other hand Confederate fare could send regiments to the hospital. So basically if Aaron doesn’t like someone, he’s liable to try to subtly poison them, but besides that if you don’t mind comfort food and lots of butter, you’re in good hands. He has a sweet tooth, and his favorite food is peach cobbler.
19.) What’s your character’s preferred means of travel?
If he can, Aaron would prefer a means of land travel, at which point the means depends on distance. However, he’s also fond of the water, so if need be he wouldn’t have any issue with that, either. He’d dislike planes though. He prefers to be on planet earth, not above it, thank you very much.
20.) Does your character have any irrational fears?
Snakes. He was bitten by a copperhead as a child, and while the bites are rarely lethal, they do hurt like a motherfucker. And back in the late 1700s, there weren’t the medical treatments to handle pain like today.
21.) What would your character’s cutie mark be?
For Aaron, I’m tempted to say like, crossed sabers or something military themed. Southern soldiers were known (or infamous, depending on who you ask) for their fighting ability, and Aaron himself is a soldier through and through.
22.) If your character could time travel, where would they go?
Knowing Aaron, he’d have the main goal of winning the war. Which could mean either before the war, or in 1861, since the Confederacy began its slow spiral down by Second Manassas in 1862, before Gettysburg turned it into a free fall in 1863 and then collapsing like a house of cards by 1865.
23.) Is your character superstitious?
He actually is, yes. Aaron can see "American" things, such as jackalope or the Native American legends such as the Thunderbird. He can also see ghosts. However, he can't see things such as fairies or unicorns, etc. Unless it's something that's present in Native American folklore or known as being "American", he can't see it. He's also not as frightened as Alfred of ghosts and such. No, he doesn't particularly like them, but that doesn't mean he's going to scream. He's the type of person that would be one of the first to tell you there are some things in the world that simply can't be explained away. He knows how to use the voodoo of Louisiana, and believes that "old wives’ tales" and omens have some grain of truth in them, if nothing else. Maybe not some of the more ridiculous ones, but there are some that he pays attention to, such as being wary of black water or "Red sky at night, sailors' delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning". It's also because of this superstition that there are times he tends to go with instinct, rather than what he may see. Even if he tends to be more practical and rational than Alfred can be, not as idealistic, if he gets a bad feeling about something for example, even if he doesn't know why, he's still be wary because of it.
24.) What might your character’s ideal romantic partner be?
Oh man, I always just like. Basically skip this question on these things. I fail, I know. It’d…likely take a special sort to be able to handle someone like Aaron, who is so infamously hard to handle. It’d have to be someone who could handle being strong for/with him, and yet yielding. Uhm…hell, it’d take a special sort just to get the guy to trust them, let alone be willing to open up as much as an actual relationship kinda requires. Aaron gets into occasional flings, not actual relationships usually.
25.) Describe your character’s hands. Are they small, long, calloused, smooth, stubby?
He has long hangs, like I think of this fanart for them. There are callouses from using various weapons so much doing the war, like on his palms and fingers, but the rest of the skin, like the back of his hands, is smooth.
26.) Second day of favorites! Favorite comfort food, favorite vice, favorite outfit, favorite hot drink, favorite time of year, and favorite holiday.
Comfort food: He’d never admit it, but pumpkin pie. It’s been stated the Alfred from Aaron’s own timeline would often use pumpkin in foods, and out of these pumpkin pie is his favorite. If asked, he’s most likely to say peach cobbler since it’s his favorite food.
Vice: He smokes and drinks, both heavily. He did before the war as well, but not nearly as much. Back during Antebellum, he’d be able to make a pack of 20 last a few days and drank only occasionally. Now, he’s liable to go through two packs a day and is drinking the strongest whiskey he can get his hands on basically any time he can.
Outfit: Aaron is one of those people who's liable to be walking around in only a long shirt, or only a pair of pants. And underwear obviously. It's just what's most comfortable to him. Actual clothes would be casual clothes for his time period, or just about any really. He doesn't mind dressing up, but he's lazy.
Hot drink: Coffee or hot chocolate. Aaron likes his coffee sweet as cane sugar and hot as hell, likewise he likes how sweet hot chocolate is.
Time of year: Spring or Autumn. He doesn't have to worry about over-heating, and there isn't as much cold to be bothered by either. If he had to just pick one he'd say Autumn. He likes the warm fall colors.
Holiday: Christmas. It's a time to be together with family, and spoil them a bit while he's at it. It's one of the few times Aaron'll act sweet to all his family members, not sweet to one or two and contrary with the rest.
27.) Pick two songs that describe your character at two different points of their life, and explain why you chose them.
During Antebellum, I’d say ”What A Shame” by Shinedown. Basically it’s a song about someone who wanted to be the best person he could be, but couldn't quite get there because everything he did or said was analyzed and judged by people who really did not understand the true person that he was. And everything he tried to do to make them see him differently only seemed to make it worse for him. That's what I think anyway. And it just fits Aaron’s situation, starting from back then. And I was at a loss for a Antebellum song.
After the war, it’d be more this this one. The main thing this song makes me think of is how the Yankee propaganda makes the CSA out to be a monster when...well, it's not true. But every time I hear this song, the more I remember CSA from Reconstruction onwards.
28.) If your character’s life was a genre, what would it be?
Wait are we talking about music still or is this like literature or movies or something. Uhm…for music it’d be like. Country or the like. Literary…it’d probably be historical, or folklore, considering the Nation part maybe even a fable. If it was a movie, likely a war-film.
29.) How does your character smell? Do they wear perfume or cologne?
Even if he only just stepped out of a shower, there’d still be the smell of honey and magnolias about him, and a hint of gunpowder. Obviously, there’s also the tobacco and whiskey. He doesn’t wear any cologne.
30.) And finally: Write a letter to your character, from yourself.
l-lol. Uhm. I will just leave this here. Yeap.